Electric switch.



G. E. CAMPBELL.

ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED FEB.20, 1911.

1,070,1 1 1, Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

4 SHBETS-8HEET 1.

C. E. CAMPBELL.

ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20, 1911.

1,070,1 11. Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

o. B. CAMPBELL.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED rn1s.2o, 1911.

Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

taken along the line 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

i CHARLES E. cmriamzz, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

s'mc'mm Specification or mite-shunt.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Application fired February 20,1811. Serial No. 609,643.

To rrZZ whom it may concern Be itknown thatl, GHARLESE. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Mossachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be n full, clear, and exact description of the invention such as will enable cthers skilled in the art to which it zipper" thins to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to electric switches, and particularly to that type of electric switches which are time cont-rolled.

It is frequently desirable that certain isolated electric lights at a distance from the central itingstation be burned only during Plifhclxll hours but thnt'the supply main-s. hich supply the current for the restot the district in which said lights are, be kept alive while these lights are out. The most convenient inethoi'l of lighting and extinguishing snch isolated lights is to place an automatic time-controlled switch between the moin slip-ply circuit and the lightor lights which are to be burned only during certain hours. Such a switch should be preferably so constructed that it will continue to not automatically over on indefinite period of time and so require attention-only at very infrequent periods to insure that it'is waring prcqierly.

T he object of the present invention is to produce an electric time switch which is simple in construction and reliable in operation and which Will be so far automatic rst-ion of the assembled switch, the door of the casing: being open; Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the switch actuating mechanism with certain parts being cut awary or shown in section; Fig. 3 is a bottom sectional View 3 of Fig. 2; Fig, 4 is ii secti'onzil View taken along the line 4-4, of Fig. 2 Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken clone; the line 5* 5 of Fig.- 2; Fig. is a rear View showing a detail of the clutch mechanism; Fig. 7 isa front View showing the sliding sleeve of the clutch mechanisin; Fig. 8 is a top sectional plan View taken along the line 8-'8 of Fig. 2; and-Fig. 9 is.

The switch mechanism is mounted in ametal casing 1 which is provided with a front door 2. A Watertight packing 3 is provided against- Which the door is lockedin place by a catch 4 which is turned by a;

key 5. The switch itself is illustrated as a" switch of the single-throw double-pole type which is indicated at 6 at the bottom of the casing, and which is adapted to connect two supply circuit Wires 7 and 8 with two consumption circuit Wires 9 and 10. The switch controlling mechanism is supported in the tipper part of the casing by a frame which comprises front and rear plates 11 and 12. The switch controlling mechanism may be seidto be divided roughly intotwo general divisions or parts, a switch actuating mechanism and a clock mechanism for controlling the operation of the switch actuating mechanism.

The present invent-ion contemplates as one of its features the employment of a corninon spring to drive both the switch actuati'ng and the clock mechanisms, as will be hereinafter described. The switch 6 is opened and closed by a crank operated link 13 which is connected between it bearing pin- 1 1 on the instllaiti'ng handle 15 of the switch and a crsnk pin 16 on a rotating plate or crank wheel 17 t The Wheel 17 is spring driven to open and close thc'switch and is arranged to be arrested ateech half revolution a detent of lock, indicated generally by reference numeral 18 which engages stop fingers 19 carried by the Wheel 17. The

wheel 17 and dctent 18 constitute an escapement for arresting the switch sctnatlng,

mechanism to hold the switch alternately opened and closed. The Wheel 17 is spring driven in. the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, by a gear wheel 20; loosely mounted on the shalt 21 and srmnged to rotate the shaft 21 in this direction by means of penile 22 carried by the gear Wheel 20 and a ratchet Wheel 23 carried by the shaft 21. The gear Wheel 20 meshes with and is driven by a gem Wheel 24: loosely mounted to rotate on a shaft'25 and bearing a drum like casing 96 which i-nc'loses a spiral driving spring 27. The outer end of the spring 27 is secured at 28 to the spring inclosing casing 26 and acts to drive the gear wheel 24.

The detent 18 which controls the movement of the spring-driven crank wheel 17 comprises two detent members or pallets 29 and 30 carried by a plate 31 and an arm 32 respectively. The plate 31 and arm 32 are pivotally mounted upon studs 33 and 34 on the frame plate 11 and are operatively connected by a pin 35 on the arm 32 which engages in a slot 36 in the plate 31. This pinand-slot connection insures that one of the pallets 29 and 30 is always held in the path of fingers 19 to prevent the wheel 17 from freely turning or running away. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the pallet 29 is normally held in the path of the fingers 19. The plate 31 is arranged to be oscillated to allow the wheel 17 to be turned or fed along a half revolution at a time. The plate 31 is oscillated by means of a reciprocating link 37 mounted eccentrically upon a spring driven shaft 38. The driving means for the shaft 38 comprises a gear wheel 39 carried ,by said shaft, a gear wheel 40 meshing with a gear wheel 39 and carried by a shaft 41, and a driving spring 42, the one end of which is connected to and drives the shaft 41. The spring 42 is wound by a gear wheel 43 loosely mounted to rotate about the shaft 41 and carrying a spring inclosing casing 44 to which the outer end of the spring 42 is attached. The gear wheel 43 is turned to wind the spring by means of a gear wheel 45 carried by the shaft 21. The arrangement of the gear wheels 43 and-45 is such that the power expended by the spring 42 inactuating the detent 18 to release the wheel 17 will be immediately restored to the spring 42 by the half revolution of the shaft 21 which is driven by the stronger driving spring 27. The shaft 38 is allowed to turn a single revolution at atime by means of a stop finger or pin 46 which projects from an escape wheel or plate 47 carried by the shaft 38 and the movement of which is arrested by a lock or detent indicated generally by reference numeral 48. The escape wheel 47 and detent 48 constitute an escapement which controls the operation of the main cscapement which comprises the escape wheel 17 and detent 18. The detent 48 comprises two separate detents or pallets 49 and 50 formed by forwardly projecting arms or flanges on a plate 51. This arrangement insures that one of the pallets 49 and 50 181 finger 54 which is arranged to be: depressed at certain predetermined times to turn the plate 51 and operate the detent 48. The employment of a second or auxiliary escapement and an auxiliary spring to control the main escapement possesses the great advantage that but little force need be applied by the clock to operate the auxiliary detent 48,

which will in turn release the power of the auxiliary spring 42 to operate the first or primary detent 18. The main detent 18 must resist considerable force in holding the wheel 17 and will require more power for its operation than could be directly applied by the clock without seriously affectlng the accurate running of the clock. The two escapements and their spring 42 constitute a connecting means or link between the main switch actuating chain of gearing and the clock. The spring 42, although for con venience rewound by the spring 27 acts in operating the escapements as an independent source of power, the release of which is controlled by the clock, but which, after its release, acts independently of the clock.

The means for depressing the finger 54 comprises two time controlled hands 55 which are turned in a clock-wise direction. After one of the hands 55 has engaged the finger 54 it turns the plate 51 to withdraw the pallet 49 and allow the pin 46 to turn against the pallet 50. The continued movement of the hand 55 causes it to ride over the finger 54, which, after its release by the hand 55, moves upwardly under the action of the spring 52- and releases the stop pin 46 from the pallet 50, allowing the plate 47 to complete its revolution and operate the detent 18 to allow the wheel 17 to make a half turn to either open or close the switch. The two hands 55 thus act alternately to open and close the switch. The hands 55 are carried by a clock driven shaft 56 and may be manually adjusted on the shaft 56. The mounting of the hands is such that they may be moved forwardly to adjust their position but they cannot be moved backwardly, such mounting preventing the hands from being moved backwardly when they engage and ride over the finger 54. A dial plate 57 is mounted upon the shaft 56 behind the hands 55 to indicate the times at which the hands 55 are set to actuate the switch. The shaft 56 is rotated by means of a gear wheel 58. mounted on said shaft driven through two intermediate gear wheels 59 and 60 from a pinion 61. A second dial face 62 is fixed on the front of the frame plate 11 to indicate the clock time and, as is usual in clock construction, the hour hand 63 is driven from the pinion 61 through the gear wheel 64 and the minute hand 65 is mounted on a shaft bearing a pinion 66 which, through a gear wheel 67 mounted on the same shaft as the pinion 61, drives the pinion 61 to turn the hour hand 63 and theswitchcontrolling hands 55. The clockis arranged to be. driven from the inner end of the-main driving spring 27 The means for transmitting the power from the spring to the clock comprises a pinion-68 meshing with a driving wheel'69 of the clock, and a pinion 70 mounted upon the same driving shaft as the pinion 68 and meshing with a-gear wheel 71 carried. by; the shaft '25. The inner end of. the spring 27 is secured at 72 to the shaft 25 and'thus acts to drive the clock.

In order that the switch may not require attention except at very infrequent intervals, the spring 27 is arranged to beantomatieally rewound as soon as it is run down or unwound beyond a certainpoint. The-means for automatically rewinding the spring comprises an elect-ricmotor 73, a switch 74 for starting and stopping the motor, and mechanism includinga clutch 75 for transmitting the power from the motor to the spring. A worm 76 is formed on the end of the motor shaft and meshes witha worm gear wheel 77. Carried by the same shaft as-t-he worm gear 77 is-a pinion 78 which meshes with .and drives a gear-wheel 7 9. The gear wheel 79 is loosely mounted to rotate on a shaft-80. During the winding of the spring the wheel 79-is held by the clutch 75 to-turn the shaft 80. A pinion 81 is carried by the shaft and meshes with and drives the wheel 20. Thegear wheel20, as before mentioned-is loosely mounted on the shaft 21, and-when the motor is running to wind-the spring 27, the pawls and ratchet 22 and 23 .allow.. .tlie

wheel 20 to turn idly about the shaft 2'1'Zand to rotate the gear wheel 24 and windathe spring 27.

The clutch mechanism, indicated generally by the reference numeral 75, comprises-a sleeve 82 mounted to slide upon the shaft 80. and splined thereto'by means of a slot 83 in the endof the sleeve and a pin 84 projecting from the shaft 80 and bearing an anti-frietionroller. A pin 85-prog'ects from the end of the sleeve 82. Vvhenthesleeve 82 is moved forwardly along the shaft 80 against the wheel 79 the pin 85 engages in an annular groove 86 cut in the hub of the wheel 79. The outer wall of the ve is recessed at one point to hold a ball 87, which engages the pin 85 and locks the wheel 79 to turnthe shaft 80 and wind the spring 27. When the sleeve 82 lSzHlOVfid backwardly along the shaft 80 away from the wheel 79 the'pin 85. -is withdrawn'from the groove 86 and the wheel 79 is free to turn and will no longer drive the shaft 80. The ball 87 is loosely mounted in its recess so that when the pin 85 is withdrawn from the groove 86 the ball will turn to allow the pin 85 to be freely drawn over it and-thus prevent any binding of the pin 85 which wouldtend to hinder the free movement of.

the sleeve 82. A ball bearing 88 is pro-- videdon the shaft 80 so that the-sleeve 82 may be easily slid thereon. The meansto reciprocate the sleeve 82-to-apply1and release I arm 93. 'During the initial-turningiof-the arm 93,1'lih6 :arm 89'remains stationary until the spring 96 is moved beyond the-pivot point 90, whereupon thearm 89-.will be suddenly thrown by the spring-96 to. apply or release the clutch. Aslow movement of the .arm 93 is thus transformed :into a rapid clutch ,th-rowing -mo-vement of the arm 89-.

Two-fingers 99 and 100 project from the adjacent ends of the arms 89-a-nd 93' and engage. each other when the arm 93 is moved rearwardly to-assist the springand insure that the clutch-is positively released.

4 The pin 97 is surrounded by sin-insulating sleeve 101 which is adapted to on age the movable contact'102of the switch. ,4. The switch 74 comprises the movable contact 102 and a fixedvc'ontact 1103 whicharecarried upon spring arms which are insulated from each other andemounted upon a stud 104 projecting upwardly from the. motor frame. .VVhen the-garm89holdsthe clutch in its,released; position, the switch 74- is open,,hut when the arm 89.throws on the clutchithe pin :97 and fits insulating sleeve -101 are moved to press the .movahle contact .102 against the fixed contact 103 to close-the circuit and start the motor. The spring arms upon which the contacts are carried allow the movable contact to be easily moved against the fixed contact and allow the fixed contact'to yield somewhatunder tension of its springto insure good electrical contact.

The link 95is connected at 105 to alever 106. \Thefreeend of the lever=106 is forked and provided with pins engaging in grooved collar 107 mounted upon the end of the shaft 108. bushings 109inthe frame plates and bears two pinion wheels 110-and-111. The pinion 110'is slidinglysplined upon-the shaft 108 lay-means of a pin 112 projecting-inwardly from the hub of the pinion and engaging in a slot cut in the shaft 108. The pinion 111 is free to rotate about the shaft108 and has The shaft 108 is mounted in screw threads cut on the interior of its hub which mesh with the screw threaded portion 113 of the shaft 108 so that any relative turning between the pinion 111 and the shaft 108-will cause the shaft 108-to travel through the hub of the pinion 111. The pinion 110 meshes with the gear wheel 2-1 which drives the switch operating mochanisi'n. \Vhen the gear wheel 2% is turned under the action of the spring 27 to actuate the switch 6, the pinion 110 will rotate the shaft 108 and feed the shaft rearwardly through the hub of the pinion 111 and move the free end of the lever 106 rearwardly. The pinion 111 meshes with the gear wheel Tl which drives the clock mechanism. The rotation of the gear wl'ieel 71 in driving the clock will also act to feed the shaft 108 rearward] y and move the lever 106 rearwardly. Since the pinions 110 and 11 1 are rotated in (TPPQSltC directions by the unwinding of the spring, the unwinding of the spring from either end will move the lever 106 rearwardly. The pitch of the screw-threaded portion 113 of the shaft 108 is such that when the spring is nearly unwound the lever 106 will he moved suiiiciently to the rear to turn the arm. 93 to apply the clutch and close the switch contacts. During the winding oi the spring: the gear wheel 24 is turned in an op jiosite direction and feeds the shaft 108 forwardly until such a time as the spring is fully reuound. il hcn the spring is fully Wound the shaft 108 will have drawn the lever 106 suiliciently forwardly to actuate the arm 93 to release the clutch and open the circuit to stop the motor.

The connections of the motor circuit are illustrated in Figs 1, '2, 8, and 9. The leads for the motor are tapped of? the supniy circuit at the binding posts of the switch 6.

The motor is of the ordinary series wound type and may he run on either direct or alternating current. .ifhe wire which leads to the iicld of the motor is connected to an insulated. binding post 11% which connected with the field of the motor by a wire 115. The other side motor field is connected by a wire 116 to the movable contact 103? of switch T ll. The fixed contact 103 this switch h: connectc by a wire 117 to the upper brush 118 of the motor armature. '1 he lower hrush 11:) oi the motor armatureconnected to an insulated stud 120 which orjccts downwardly from the motor cas- "llhe stud 120 is connected through a spring clip 122 carried by a bindi g post 1'38. The binding post 23 connected th the supply circuit. no resistance 531 is removaldy held in 11 "tel manner. end 01'' the res tancc l. formed with a trai'isverse slot which gages over the stud 120 while the omit end of lhe re stance nas formed, therea central is engaged h"; a

ree-ss "X11 h lug; .24; on the spring clip i can. thus he easily remoi'cil by hcndmg; lunch the spring clip iii and new lilJQlt'tCl. When the switch is shi ipcd roiu the factory number of resistances are sent with it, and when the switch is in-- stalled the proper resistance is to he placed in circuit whereby the motor will be adapted to run on a number of difl'erent voltages. As illustrated in the drawings, a resistance 70 marked 110 volts is inserted. in the circuit.

When the motor is winding the spring, the loosely mounted gear wheel 20 will turn idly about the shaft 21, and the friction of its bearing and of the pawls 2:2 over the ratchet 23 will tend to turn the shaft 24 and wheel 17 in an opposite direction from that in which they are normally rotated to operate the switch. Sn ch reverse rotation of the wheel 17 would, if permitted, act to operate 59 the switch. in order to prevent any such. reverse rotation the wheel 17 is not errrested by the chi-tent 18 until its "rank pin 16 is carried somewhat beyond the position of a dead center with rolatimi to the axis of the shaft 251 and ti hearing pin 14., and spring means are n cled to exert a long? otall inou. cl on the switch blades and in 95 which play cross 1 s 12?.

are sou'iewnat h I from slipping; the When the switch is closed, the so s tend to raise the switch and. giv so upward thrust to the link um i the wheel 17 formirdly a v and so vent it I is open springr s on the switch blades a pull to the link 1 wheel 1'? forward so prevent its reverse r 152-5 also performs a ih' lr. sistinc; the switch a tuatininitial opening When the detent 18 springs help to are nucthe inertia of the parts in startine'. ar the completion of the opening and closing ni=; -'ven';ents of the switclu the nujwahle parts have iattaiiml suliicient momentum so that they casi j overcome the resistance of the spring 125, 1; which then acts as a cushion to assistin arresting the moving parts at the completion. oi? the opening and closing movements of the switch;

in order to prevent a hard hammer hlow 1 beingdelivered upon the pallet when the wheel 17 is arrested, the stop fingers 19 are formed upon the ends of a bar 1528 which is imn'naled on the hub of the wheel 17. The bar is held forwardly against a positioning 1 the have s certain amount of loose *en the tops of said yokes and The tips of the springs 125 Hitilfli to keep the yokes 1 129 by two spring pressed plungers 130 (Fig.2) which act as cushions in arresting the movement of the wheel 17 In order that the switch may be operated 5 independently of the clock mechanism without opening the case, or may be operated from a. distance, an auxiliary means is provided for actuating the switch controlling escapements. This auxiliary means comprises a battery circuit- 131 provided with any suitable push button or switch 132 and connected toa magnet 133 positioned behind the dial plate 57. The magnet 133 is pro vided with an armature 134 which through alink 135, an arm 136, and a second link or wire 137, is arranged to turn the detent plate 51 and open and close the switch independently of the time controlled hands 55.

Such circuit may be run to a'point distant from both the switch and the supply mains,

and can be wired with ordinary small bell wire and so obviate the necessity of lengthening the sup-ply circuit to include such distant switch operating station.

The invention having been thus described,

what is claimed is: I

1. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, switch actuating mechanism, clock mechanism, an escapement controlling the movement of the switch actuating mechanism comprisin a spring and a second escapement control ed by the clock mechanism, and means driven by the switch actuating mechanism for rewinding the spring.

2. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, switch actuating mechanism, clock mechanism, an escapement controlling the movement of the switch actuating mechanism comprising a spring and a second cscapement controlled by the clock mechanism, and means acting at each operation of the first escapement to rewind the spring.

3. An electric timeswitch, having, in combination, a switch, mechanism for o ning and closing the switch at predetermined intervals, :1 spring for driving said mechanism, means for rewinding the. spring, and means for controlling the rewinding means,

-said means comprising a longitudinally movable shaft, a wheel mounted upon and screw threaded to said shaft, and arranged to be turned by the movementof the spring to feed said shaft longitudinally.

4. An electric time-switch, having, in

combination, a switch, switch actuating mechanism, clock mechanism for controlling said switch actuating mechanism, and a common driving spring for both of said mechanisms, means for rewinding the spring,

means for controlling said rewinding means comprising a longitudinally movable shaft,

two wheels mounted upon said shaft, one of said wheels being screw-threaded thereon and the other of said wheels being slidingly splined thereon, one of said wheels being connected to the switch actuating mechanism, and the other of said wheels being connected to the clock mechanism, sai

wheels being arranged to be turned in opposite directions by the mechanisms to which they are respectively connected whereby the shaft is lon 'tudinally moved during the unwinding o the spring.

5. An electric tlme-switch having, in combination, a switch, mechanism for o i ning and closing the switch at predetermr ed intervals, a spring for driving said 'mechanism, a motor for rewindin the spring, means for connecting the moto to the spring including a clutch comprising two relatively 8 movable members co-axially mounted, one

oi which is the driving and the other of which is the driven member, a pin projecting from one of said members and an annular slot formed in the other member for the engagement of the pin and a ball held at one point in the slot against which the pin is adapted to strike.

6. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, a switch, mechanism for opening and closing the switch at predetermined intervals, a spring for driving said mechanism, a motor for rewinding the spring, means including a clutch for connecting the motor to the spring, means for'operating the clutch comprising two oppositely extend ing arms which are pivotally mounted at their adjacent ends, one of the arms being connected to the clutch, and the other one of the arms being arranged to be moved by the unwinding and the winding of the spring, a tension spring connected between said arms and adapted to be moved by the second arm across the pivotal point of the first arm,

to convert a slow movement of the second arm into a rapid movement of the first arm, and projecting fingers on the adjacent ends of said arms actin to engage each other to assist the spring 1n positively turning the first arm when the second arm is moved,

7. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, a switch, mechanism'for opening and closing the switch at predetermined intervals including a crank, and a link connected between the crank and the switch, said crank being arranged to be arrested after it has passed somewhat beyond 'a position of dead center, and a spring exerting a longitudinal force on the link to hold the crank from turning backward from its arrested position.

8. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, a switch, clock mechanism, mechanism for actuating the switch controlled by the clock mechanism and adapted to be ar rested to hold the switch in an open or closed position, said mechanism including a crank which is arranged to pass somewhat beyond a dead center when said mechanism is arrested, and a spring tending to move the crank forward after it has passed beyond the dead center position, whereby the crank is prevented from turning backward from its arrested position.

9. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, a knife blade switch, mechanism for opening and closing the switch at predetermined intervals including a crank and a link connecting the crank to the switch, said mechanism being arranged'to be arrested when the crank has passed somewhat beyonda dead center position with relation to the point at which the link is connected to the switch and to the axis about which the crank is rotated, and a spring connected to the switch and resisting the opening and closing movements of the switch until the crank reaches the posit-ion of dead center and then tending to continue the said opening and closing movements respectively, so that the force of the spring transmitted to the crank through the connecting link prevents the crank from turning backward from its arrested position.

10. Self-winding mechanism for a springdriven electric time-switch, having, in combination, a motor, a switch for controlling the motor, connections including a clutch between the motor and the spring of the time switch, and mechanical connections between the spring and the clutch and motor switch acting when the spring is unwound to close the motor switch and apply the clutch to rewind the spring and acting when the spring is rewound to open the motor switch and release the clutch.

1'1. Self-winding mechanism for a springdriven electric time-switch, having, in combination, a motor, a switch for controlling the motor, connections including a clutch between the motor and the spring of the time switch, a lever for applying and releasing the clutch having a mechanical connection with the motor switch, and means acting through said lever when the spring is unwound to close the motor switch and apply the clutch to rewind the spring and acting when the spring is rewound to open the motor switch and release the clutch.

12. An electric time-switch, having, in combination, a switch, switch actuating mechanism including a wheel having a projecting stop finger and a spring tending to rotate the said wheel, clock mechanism, detent mechanism for arresting the wheel including a rotatabl mounted plate having a pallet adapted to be moved into and out of the pathof the stop finger, and a pivotally mounted lever connected with the plate and having a pallet adapted to be moved into the path of the stop finger when the first pallet is moved out of the path of the stop 'fi'nger, and means controlled by the clock jecting stop finger and a spring tendingto v rotate said wheel, clock mechanism, detent mechanism for arresting the wheel including a rotatably mounted plate having a pallet normally held in the path of the stop finger,

a pivotally mounted lever having a pallet and having a connection with said plate to normally hold said second pallet out of the path of the stop finger, and means controlled by the clock mechanism for turning the plate to move the first pallet out of the path of the stop finger and to move the second pallet into the path of the stop finger, whereby the wheel is allowed to turn to move the stop finger from the first to the second pallet, and for then turning the plate to move the second pallet out of the path of the stop finger and to move the first pallet into the path of the stop finger, whereby the stop finger is released to allow the wheel to turn still further.

CHARLES E. CAMPBELL. Witnesses:

HORACE VAN EVEREN, GEORGE E. STEBBINS. 

